Croup: Season 9, Episode 4 (Elijah)

Hello from Porta-land! We are still amongst the living, although I have to check my pulse a few times a day to make sure of that. My lack of posts are evidence that we are in a bit of a crazy season right now. It is Dan's super-busy work season, I have taken on a large work project that is due in a few weeks and we've been trying to clean up our new (awesome!) yard and manage life, as well.

Yesterday on the drive to school in literally a matter of a minute, Elijah went from feeling super to feeling terrible. He spent yesterday and today at home. Today I had him lay down for a nap and when he woke up he had a mild croup episode. I could tell it scared him by the panicked look in his eyes, but I stayed calm and encouraged him to do the same. I gave him a teeny-tiny dose of steroids and all was well minus a slightly barky cough for the rest of the day. He took a bigger preventative dose before bed tonight because all of my croup alarms were going off. We're praying for an uneventful night and for a much better, school-filled day tomorrow!

Speaking of tomorrow, we will bring Elijah to Children's for his 6-month cardiology check-up. We have no reason to believe anything is amiss, but it's always good to get the official report.

A couple cute things from this evening.. As I was putting Elijah to bed, he called me back into his room. "Mom? I loved when you laid down with me for a nap today. It was my favorite part of the day." I already knew that because I watched him as he fell asleep and he had a content smile on his face as he drifted off with his arms wrapped tightly around me. Just like our old napping days. It was a precious mama moment that I'll always remember.

We have a family member who is close to going home to Jesus. Sammy and I were praying for her at bedtime and Sammy thoughtfully interrupted the prayer to say, "Mom? I think I know why her brain and body aren't working as well anymore. It's because she's old and her blood got stuck in her wrinkles." That boy. He is so sweet and always thinking of others and also thinking through how and why things happen.

Dan and I brought the boys to a Casting Crowns concert last weekend as a (delayed) birthday gift for Elijah. It was amazing! The boys were on cloud nine hearing their most favorite songs from the radio LIVE. Danny Gokey was one of the opening bands and he had some fun dance moves to go along with his music. Since the concert, Sammy has been trying to replicate the dance moves in our living room and in our backyard as he plays DG's music on one of our phones. It is so stinkin' cute and I love that he wants to be like someone who loves to sing about and dance to Jesus.

We're getting excited to get our RV back, open up our pool for the season and watch our trees and gardens come alive! There is a lot to look forward to but also a lot to get through in the next few weeks. Pray we survive! Here's hoping you all are doing great. Thanks for checking in!!

Warm weather = smiles

I thought I'd do something I rarely do and write two posts in two days! WHAT?! Buddy and I had a rough morning. There was a lot of chewing on rugs, pillows and blankets. We have a crate downstairs now, so every time he started chewing on things he's not supposed to I put him in his crate until he calmed down. By 1:00 I just needed a break, so I crated him for two glorious hours. He really is such a good pup. I keep reminding myself that he's not even 4 months old. He's just a babe! Grace!

Elijah had another GREAT day at school, yay! I stopped by this morning to spend time in both boys' classrooms and they were both happy and working hard.

I took a few cute pics tonight of the boys and the Budster (Sammy's favorite name for him).

We have some big things in the works right now as far as getting even more help for Elijah. He is doing SO WELL, but we always want to stay way on top of things. After many months of waiting, he is finally "in the system" with the state and is eligible for PCA care. We are getting all of that sorted out and will hopefully have things in place within a few weeks.

Tonight Sammy called me back into his room as he often does after bedtime. He said, "Mommy! Do you know how many percent I love you? Like 5 quadrillion percent. Times INFINITY!" :) He then requested "as many smooches and hugs" as I could deliver. That boy. I love him!

The weather was GORGEOUS today! I walked outside around lunchtime with a coat and quickly shed it. We so enjoyed being outside tonight. It lifted our spirits so much!

Isn't this pup adorable?!

I'm off to relax on the couch for a bed before an early bedtime. Thanks for peeking in!

Warm Weather Transformation

We have been LOVING this gorgeous Minnesota spring weather! We spend as much time as possible outside. Elijah has been very interested in riding our "big-boy" bike around the neighborhood (with me trailing close behind, of course). I love that he is finally wanting to be on a bike! He is doing great.

Sammy has been into RUNNING. He loves to run and asks me to time him as he runs to the end of the sidewalk and back. I can't remember if I've mentioned that he is starting soccer this weekend. All of us, including Sammy (surprisingly), are excited for his new adventure!

I frequently run into things like this in our house. Seriously.

And this. Love these silly cutie pies.

I snapped this photo the other day as we were walking home from the park. It looks like such a sweet picture, but Sammy was actually pretending to be holding Elijah captive. :) They sure didn't seem to mind walking like this. I love that they love each other so much.

I'm thankful that this the extent of our weekly update. We have had a great past week overall. School and behavior has been up and down for Elijah, but we all see a small amount of progress (yay!) in every area. Two steps forward, one step back. We will take it!

Thanks for peeking in!

Happy Spring! Ha!

We got a heavy, wet, large snowfall overnight last night that the boys and I had so much fun with today. Dan is out of town for the week for work, so he sadly missed out on the block's coolest, tallest, most awesome snowman. This one takes the cake! (Based on its height, guess who built 99% of it!)

A few days after Elijah's tummy was back to normal last week Dan and I both caught the bug. It was horrid. I spent two days unable to do anything. We were a miserable family over the weekend! Thankfully, we are all feeling MUCH better.

Elijah's teacher called me today with a mostly good report. She has noticed some "differences" in him in the past month. There are certain things he is fighting with his school work more than ever (math and writing) and this wasn't a surprise (this is an NLD thing). He fights these things at home, as well. The good differences that she noted are also things we have seen at home in the past month. He is able to transition much better, he handles himself socially much better and he can be talked down from an almost-bad situation much more easily.

We have noticed at home that things have been much improved. Sleep is better, using the restroom is (mostly) not a big deal anymore (umm, this is HUGE), anxieties overall seem to have lessened and situations that would have set him off two months ago can sometimes be averted easily. WHY? I have no idea. Essential oils? Prayer? We've been consistent with both of the above, so maybe one or both are the answer?? The ONE thing that has been worse than usual is his attitude toward Sammy. He is usually so good with Sam and they play together so well. Lately he has been mostly positive to everyone except for Sam. Tonight I had the thought that Elijah's confidence seems to have been boosted. When he interacts with all of us, he has a much more confident spirit. For some reason, that confidence is translated into negativity when he interacts with his little bro.

In conclusion! Ha! I have no idea what is going on, but I am accepting most of these changes with open arms and hope that they only continue to blossom into better times and attitudes. Whatever is sparking this change, thank you!

That's all I've got for now. More later, as the week without Daddy unfolds! Thank you for peeking in!

The Mask, and...is spring finally here?!

I had lunch with my sweet friend Sue today and she made me remember that I hadn't written an update about THE MASK and how Elijah dealt with that during his surgery. I've been so caught up with the details that I haven't thought to write an update about that. After all of your prayers, letters, emails and cards, I have to tell you that YOUR PRAYERS HELPED!

(Here's E from tonight, dressed as a dragon and wandering around outside. We had some sidewalk gawkers. :)

We were sure to get E a good heaping dose of Versed before his surgery. He became totally relaxed and loopy, which was a good thing. Dan took him back to the OR, as he usually does (I still can't stomach it after the one time I went) and he said that in standard Elijah fashion he attempted to distract everyone when the mask came out. "Hey guys! I....I have a qu-question!" "Oh, what's your question, Elijah?" "Uhh, ummmm, uhhhh..." After three rounds of this, they finally put the mask on his face and put him to sleep. Dan said he put up a tiny fight, but NOTHING compared to usual. From now on, we will go the Versed route. Thank you all for your prayers about this and your comforting encouraging letters! Elijah and Sammy have adored them and we are grateful beyond words.

We are enjoying the beautiful weather! We're hoping it sticks around this time. It is May, right?!

I tried taking photos of Sammy tonight, and he put up such a fuss which is further proof that he and his brother are such opposites. "NO, MOMMY! NOOOOOO PICTURES!"

Sammy is still sooo independent. He certainly needs control of MOST things in his little life. He is such a funny kid. We love him to pieces!

Dan is back at work at the dropzone now Wed-Sun, so we are beginning to adjust to that. It is a new season!

I will end with a few funnies from the boys. If you're on Facebook, these will be repeats.

Sammy: [fake cough....faker cough....way faker cough..] MOMMY! I have a cough!
Me: I hear that! Are you okay?
Sammy: NOOOooo! I fink I'm DYING!

While waiting for the bus with Elijah one morning last week (in the snowy coldness) Elijah said, "The grass just growled at me, Mr. Slushy!" Not sure what that meant, but it made me laugh!

And here is Elijah, saying, "Mommy! Take a picture of ME!"

Elijah has been using the word "confused" in place of the word "disappointed," which I find to be super cute. He will say, "Mom! You aren't coming to the club with us today? I am very confused about that! I will miss you!" :) I refuse to correct him.

And last but not least, a few Elijah-isms to wrap up:
"Mom, you are the chocolate chips in my cookie."
"You are the elbow on my arm."
"You are the peaches in my oatmeal."
"You are the lobe on my ear."
"You are the woodpecker sitting on my long nose."

Have a good week! Thanks for checking in! xo

Flooded river = spring has sprung!

Remember these photos from last year? We went down to check out the flooded river.



(This next one is one of my all-time favorite Elijah photos, by the way.)



Then we made a stop at the almost-flooded park for a quick swing break.



Well, the river flooded again this spring. So again, we went down to check it out.



The water level is a bit higher than it was last year.



Elijah is much bigger than he was last year.



And this year, a cute, chubby baby was able to join us.



This was Sammy's first time on a swing!



He seemed to enjoy himself. Although, he doesn't express his emotions quite like his brother does. Which is just fine.



We had a hard time getting Elijah to leave the park.



Sammy was up for anything. :)



We are welcoming spring with open arms!

Where's the snow??

Sam sat outside and looked around like, WHAT IS THIS?



Elijah excitedly pointed out birds to me. Wook, Mom, a BIRD! Thank goodness for this tiny taste of spring. I need spring. We all need spring.



Sammy did his first sign last night! He pushed his bottle away and I said, "Do you want more bottle or are you all done?" and he did the sign for ALL DONE. That was Elijah's first sign, too!



We had some rough patches with Elijah over the weekend. The sass and drama that can come from that boy gets ridiculous at times. Dan and I got to the point where we had a zero tolerance level for whining. If he whined, he went straight to his room. Then, there were other times that I couldn't believe how sweet he was. "Mommy, come snuggle on the couch wif me!" Or a random, "I wuv you, Mom."



Sammy is crawling everywhere and he is even pulling himself to a stand and then trying to stand on his own. He is ready to RUN. We have found him at the bottom of the stairs, looking up, crying because he doesn't know how to climb them yet.

I have been feeling extra vulnerable lately about Elijah's upcoming surgery. The bad thoughts creep in too often, and I don't deal with them very well. I want this surgery to go away. I don't feel ready to face it. I haven't found peace yet, although I'm trying so so hard. Please God, protect our little boy! That's something I say under my breath at least once every five minutes.

Dan starts night/weekend work soon and I'm feeling down about that, too. I want that reality to go away, as well.

I'm hoping spring will improve moods and emotions all-around!